2012 News Archive

Through a generous donation by magicJack from one of their alumni Dan Borislow, Widener
University has established three full memorial scholarships to honor victims of the
tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The siblings
of those lost in the tragedy and dependents of the adults who lost their lives will
be eligible for the scholarships, which will cover all costs over four years should
they be accepted to Widener University.

Widener University and Sussex Technical School District, a public Career and Technical
Education school district in Georgetown, Del., announced on Friday that they've entered
into a partnership that will bring new higher education course offerings to high school
students in Sussex County and central Delaware.

Widener University will honor Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of Boeing Defense,
Space & Security, at the Oskin Leadership Institute's Voices of Leadership event on
Thursday, November 1. The Voices of Leadership event celebrates the Oskin Leadership
Institute's mission to perpetuate and strengthen Widener's long and noble tradition
of inspiring students to be strategic leaders and responsible citizens who possess
the character, courage and competencies to affect positive change throughout the world.

Widener University is currently seeking nominations for the 2013 High School Leadership
Awards, but the recipients of last year's awards continue to reap the benefits of
their selection with a day-long leadership development conference at Widener on Oct.
27.

Widener University has chosen 16 undergraduate students to participate in the highly
selective Oskin Leaders Program. Students in the program receive leadership training
and one-on-one coaching that guides them through identifying and developing a project
that has the potential to change the world. The program is administered by the Oskin
Leadership Institute at Widener.

Widener University's FreshBaked Theatre Company will present The Lake at the End of
the World, a musical for young audiences, on Saturday, Nov. 3 and Sunday, Nov. 4 at
2 p.m. in Widener's Alumni Auditorium on Main Campus in Chester, Pa. The musical is
for ages 5 and up and has a running time of 45 minutes.

David Schott's bio reads more like an extreme sports bucket list than a résumé. It
includes "shooting aerials from planes and airships, trekking through the swamp, ice
diving, and diving in extreme environments for the perfect shot."

As a teen in Richboro, Pa., Chris Hahn worked on a farm to save the money he earned
for a much-desired purchase: his own computer.
A few years later when Hahn started at Widener in 1996, he was among the minority
of students who brought a computer into his dorm room.

At night she heard the screams. Her hands cuffed tightly behind her back, Rula Al-Saffar
waited in a Bahraini jail cell as the guards tortured her colleagues. She agonized
not only for her fellow medical professionals--locked up for providing medical aid
to Arab Spring protestors in Manama, the capital city of Bahrain--but in fear of her
own safety.

Widener University has planned a series of educational events to celebrate Food Day--the
nationwide celebration and movement toward more healthy, affordable and sustainable
food and a better food system.

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame member Theresa Grentz, a Glenolden, Pa. native and
member of the three-time national champion Immaculata College teams of the early 1970s,
will talk about how female coaches lead differently than male coaches on Thursday,
Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. in Lathem Hall at Widener University.

This semester, Widener welcomed two Fulbright Scholars to campus: Onika Henry and
Lorena Olvera. Both Henry and Olvera ranked Widener at the top of their list once
accepted into the competitive international exchange program. They had done their
research and both concluded that the premiere place to study human sexuality was Widener's
Center for Human Sexuality Studies.

The Widener Partnership Charter School, the state's first university-based charter,
on Thursday unveiled the new $4.6 million wing of the school at 1450 Edgmont Ave.
The 28,000-sq-ft. addition includes a Science Learning Center, an extension of the
library, a gymnasium, eight classrooms and eight offices.

Widener University, recognized as one of the nation's premier universities for civic
engagement and applied leadership, today opened the nomination period for the second
annual High School Leadership Awards. In partnership with WCAU-TV NBC10, this program
identifies the region's high school students who embody the university's commitment
to develop and inspire leaders who affect positive change.

For the third year, Victory Media, Inc. has selected Widener University as a "Military
Friendly School," placing it in the top 15 percent of all higher education institutions
nationwide that are doing the most to embrace America's military service members,
veterans and spouses as students and ensure their success on campus.

Widener University, one of the nation's premier universities for civic engagement
and applied leadership, is proud to launch the first-of-its-kind site that encourages
high school students to track and share their activities, community service and leadership
actions at leadershipworks.widener.edu from September 5 through December 15, 2012.

Widener senior Tom Hunter saw firsthand how natural disasters have impacted New Orleans
communities. Hunter earned a trip to the city through his spring co-op site, KPMG,
one of the largest accounting firms internationally.

Dr. Joy Dickerson, associate professor and director of the Cooperation Education program
in the School of Hospitality Management at Widener University, was named the 2012
Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching recipient.

In the spring, rising senior Katrina Kelly and rising sophomore Leelabati Biswas traveled
to New York City to present a letter they had drafted to Sen. Patrick Toomey on the
hazards of hydraulic fracturing.

Widener University was recently awarded 14 education awards from AmeriCorps and PennSERVE,
the Governor's Office on Citizen Service, that will help students provide vital service
to the community and receive funding to help pay for college.

The trustees of Widener University will extend the contract of President James T.
Harris III for another five years beyond its current expiration date. The contract
extension was announced by Board of Trustees Chairman Nicholas Trainer today and will
extend Dr. Harris's role as president through June 30, 2017.

Candice Chan of Philadelphia, Pa. has been named director of international admissions
at Widener University. The new position is part of the university's efforts to enhance
campus internationalization and prepare all students to live and work in a global
and multicultural society.

The Widener University Art Gallery will present a new exhibition, Along the Eastern
Road: Hiroshige's 53 Stations of the Tokaido, from August 21 through October 20, 2012.
The exhibition is free and open to the public.

The Widener University Board of Trustees recently appointed four new members to its
ranks including two leading medical professionals in the region, a senior vice president
for DuPont and an undergraduate student leader.

Dr. Matthew Poslusny of Garnet Valley, Pa., has expanded his current role at Widener
University as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences to now include formal responsibilities
for the development and implementation of common learning experiences for all undergraduate
students. His new title is dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Common
Student Experience.

The Heritage Commission of Delaware County and Delaware County Council recently presented
the Leedom B. Morrison Award to Widener University and the Chester Higher Education
Council for their efforts to readapt a 19th century home in Chester for use as the
College Access Center of Delaware County.

Dennis O'Shea, grounds foreman at Widener University, and Paula Garrison, assistant
to Widener University School of Law Dean Linda L. Ammons, were awarded the William
David Eckard Jr. Awards for Distinguished Service in recognition of their hard work
and longtime commitment to the university.

Widener University President James T. Harris III urged nearly 900 students graduating
from Widener on Saturday to take a different view of the "top one percent" of wage
earners who have been the target of national protests in recent months.

The Chester Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) honored two Widener University librarians for their work to preserve the history
of the NAACP and the civil rights movement in the city of Chester.

Dr. Suk-Chung Yoon, a William R. Bailey Endowed professor and chair of the Department
of Computer Science at Widener University, has been appointed to a new position at
Widener as associate provost for experiential learning and global engagement.

Widener University is one of only 40 colleges and universities nationwide selected
by the Council of Independent Colleges to participate in the Engaging Evidence Consortium,
an initiative that provides institutions with resources and an expanded professional
network to conduct a campus project that uses assessment data to strengthen student
learning.

Widener University undergraduates Leelabati Biswas, a freshman biology major, and
Katrina Kelly, a junior political science and international relations major, recently
traveled to New York City to present a letter they had drafted to Sen. Patrick Toomey
on the hazards of hydraulic fracturing.

Dr. Stephen Kauffman, associate professor in the Center for Social Work Education
at Widener University, has been selected to serve as a Teagle Assessment Scholar with
the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts.

The U.S. Soccer Foundation selected Widener University to receive a $200,000 grant
over two years to operate Soccer for Success, the Foundation's after-school youth
development program, for low-income students in the Chester Upland School District.

Widener University has been named to the 2012 President's Higher Education Community
Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive
for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.

In honor of the famed baker, students involved in the National Association of Catering
Executives and the Society of Food and Wine have joined together to host the school's
first annual Cake Boss contest.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education has selected the Widener Partnership Charter
School (WPCS) among 57 schools and organizations statewide to receive a total of $64.4
million as part of the 21st Century Community Learning Challenge Grant.

Widener University, one of the nation's premier universities for civic engagement
and applied leadership, in partnership with WCAU-TV NBC10, today announced the winners
of the Widener University High School Leadership Awards.